39 Connecticut Patients Cleared Of Meningitis Scare

The 39 people in Connecticut who received epidural injections of steroid medication potentially contaminated with fungal meningitis have been contacted and cleared, officials said on Tuesday.

More than 100 cases of people with meningitis linked to the medication, administered to treat pain, have been reported in 10 states, resulting in 11 deaths, as well as strokes in a number of people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Interventional Spine & Sports Medicine of Middlebury is one of 75 facilities in 23 states that received batches of the medication, created by New England Compounding Center, in Framingham, Mass., the state Department of Public Health said.

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are coordinating an investigation.

One Connecticut patient who received the medication was evaluated and had "normal" test results. The other 38 "had no concerning symptoms and did not require evaluation by their health care provider," the state health department said in a written release Tuesday.

"Patients were informed of the current situation, educated regarding which symptoms to look out for, and advised to contact the practice and seek treatment in the emergency room should any of these symptoms develop," the statement read.

For more information about the multistate meningitis outbreak investigation, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html.